John Milton's Paradise Lost:

Character Analysis:The Son of God:

The Son of God in Paradise Lost is Christ, though he is never named explicitly, since He has not yet entered human form. After the Father explains to him how Adam and Eve will fall, and how the rest of humanity will be doomed to follow them in their cursed footsteps, the Son heroically proclaims that he will take the punishment for humanity. The Son gives hope to the poem because although Satan conquers humanity by successfully tempting Adam and Eve, the victory is temporary because the Son will save the human race. Interestingly enough, the Son shows a major break with orthodox religious thought on Milton’s part; the accepted belief at the time was that the Trinity were all part of the one Godhead, and thus all created at the same time, and yet Milton portrays the Son as being created after the Father.